Drabbles
by arra-numair
Summary: This is just a compilation of the "drabbles" I promised to write on Tumblr. They're posted individually as well! Modern one shots. Ships so far are: BurixRaoul, OnuaxDaine, LalasaxTian
1. BuriRaoul

The meeting finished up an hour later than expected. Everyone else had left immediately after, anxious to get home to get started with the weekend. Raoul was held up organizing some papers and when he heard a familiar rough laugh. Looking up, he saw Buri having a few words with Thayet. Raoul looked up again a few seconds later when a hand came within his field of vision and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in front of him.

"Aren't you glad we're finally done for the day?" Buri asked, taking a bite from the apple.

Raoul leaned back on the swivel chair, causing it to creak dangerously. He pushed his fingers through his hair and yawned. It had been a long day, full of meetings deciding goals for the next quarter. "Definitely. You got any plans?"

"Mhmm… Thayet roped me into helping with wedding stuff this weekend. She calls it "bonding". I call it hell."

"Hah. Thank God Jon's learned not to ask me to get involved in parties. Do you have time to grab some dinner?"

"Yeah sure I've got like an hour. There's a new place close by, right? An Ethiopian place?"

Raoul got up and stretched his arms over his head, suit buttons threatening to pop. "Oh that place is good! Long walk though. Should we take my car?"

"Yeah sure," Buri slipped her arms into her coat, holding the apple between her teeth. Grabbing her bulky bag, she strode to the door holding it open. Raoul strode over in two quick steps, leading the way to the elevator bay.

It was quiet as they waited for the elevator's familiar chime. It seemed like they were the last ones there. Raoul hesitantly shifted from one foot to the other.

"Hey are you okay? Like with the wedding and all?" he nervously asked.

Buri tilted her head up to him, almond eyes thoughtful. "I didn't think I would be but I think I am. I definitely wouldn't have been if it was two years ago and not just because we were recently broken up then. I honestly just didn't think Jon was the right person for her. He's definitely grown up and I know he'll keep her happy so I'm okay. We weren't meant to be so there's no point in being bitter, right?"

The elevator dinged and the two stepped in. Raoul leaned against the wall smiling down at his friend. "That's good. You really are a good friend; not many would be as close to their exes as you are. I mean you're her maid of honor. That's sweet."

Buri rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. Raoul didn't tend to compliment that much. She awkwardly punched his arm. "Ew, you ogre. Stop being nice."

Raoul chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a side hug. "Guess I just won't pay for dinner then."

Buri punched his stomach and pulled away. Crossing her arms in front of her she playfully scowled at him. "Is this how you treat your dates? No wonder you're single. You can't give in that quickly, doofus!"

"Ah, but see I don't have to act nice for _you_."

Buri mock gasped in shock. "Well! I'll have you know that I'm as much of a lady as they are! I expect equal treatment."

"Well then _milady,_ it's a date." The elevator stopped in the garage and Raoul took her strode out to his Range Rover, opening the door for her. "After you _milady._"

Buri walked after him shaking her head at him. "Dork," she muttered, trying to hide her smile. She climbed up and allowed a quick grin as Raoul walked around to his side. This could be fun!


	2. OnuaDaine

Onua sighed in relief. It was finally quiet. The quietest it had been since the freshmen moved in. Stretching out on the lounge couch, she turned on the dusty, old TV, turning on the volume as high as her ears could handle. It's not like anyone was there to complain. As RA she would usually have to tell the residents to keep it down, but now she was Queen of the building. A lonely Queen, but a happy one.

Flicking through the channels in a failing search for something not too holiday related, Onua caught a glimpse through the window of someone trudging up to the entrance on the floor below. Dismissing it as someone who probably left something behind, Onua turned her attention back to the screen.

It was some time later that Onua realized she had never seen anyone leave. Her stomach rumbled now that her attention wasn't on the cheesy soap she had settled for. Stretching her back and savoring the pops that came in response, she lifted herself off the chair, grabbed her set of master keys and half stumbled, half walked down the stairs. There better not be anyone here. She hadn't been informed of anyone else staying for break so anyone that was there would be breaking the housing contract. The very contract she had sworn to protect at all costs! Maybe not, but her curiosity was getting to her now. Who was it?

Marching down the stairs, Onua looked around for any sign of life. It was all quiet, lights off and lounges empty, just as it was supposed to be. She opened the door to the nearest hall and peeked in. Nothing. The other two yielded the same results. By the time she got to the last hall, she had nearly convinced herself that she probably just didn't notice the person leaving, so consumed by the on-screen people's nonexistent problems. She yanked the door open and almost didn't notice the soft notes of music emanating from down the hall. Aha! There was someone there!

She crept down the hall, various explanations running through her head. She had definitely seen a person come in so all supernatural explanations were out of order. It was a girls' hall and this particular one held a bunch of nasty, entitled brats. Brats she would expect to go home over the holidays to spend time guilt-tripping their parents into getting them more presents. So why would anyone be here? Unless they were like herself and had filled out an extended stay form, every other resident had to leave. She was almost at the end of the hall now. The last room had light peeking out from under it. Who's room was that again? Short hair, freckles… Miri! Miri Fisher! And that quiet little mouse of a roommate of hers. Diane? No, Daine. She hadn't seemed like that type to break the rules though.

Onua stopped at the last door and knocked. Hearing some shuffling on the other side, the door soon opened to reveal a ruffled looking Daine, brown curls all frizzed up in the braid attempting to tame them and a random T-shirt thrown over worn sweatpants. Her big, stormy eyes looked up at Onua, expression guarded. She tilted her head in confusion.

"Hello," Onua began, uncertain on how to talk to the quiet girl. Onua had made it a point to talk to all her residents and be open and available for her freshmen, unlike her own RA had been. She had somehow never really had a conversation with just Daine. Her outgoing roommate Miri had always been with them, facilitating things. Even now, Daine just looked up at her.

"Hi," she eventually murmured, a faint smile on her face. She opened her door wider and stepped back. "Would you like to come in?"

"Oh no," Onua said, rather hesitant on how to phrase her next question. "Thank you though. I was just wondering… Why are you here?"

Daine's smile grew a bit more as she stepped forward once more. "Why are any of us here?" she replied, a glint in her eye.

Onua chuckled, a bit surprised. "Sorry, what I meant was that all residents without an extended stay request were supposed to leave this morning. Aren't you supposed to go home too?"

Daine's smile softened a bit. A flash of something shone in her eyes. "I turned in the form but they had some problems processing it so maybe they forgot to let you know?"

Onua thought about that. Technical difficulties with Resident Services was just as expected as long holds for the Financial Aid office; in other words, it's totally understandable. "Oh alright then! Sorry, I didn't mean to be so straight. Just trying to do my job!" Her stomach let out a mighty rumble, loud enough to rival a whale. Daine let out a laugh.

"Since you're here, do you want to grab dinner? It could give us a chance to get to know each other. We're practically strangers!"

Daine looked down at her slouchy clothes. "What did you have in mind? I don't have anything clean to wear right now; I was actually about to come up to do my laundry and let you know I was here for break."

"How about pizza?" Onua asked. Who doesn't like pizza?

A couple of hours later, the two were lying on the floor, hardly able to breathe between their laughter. Turns out they actually had a lot in common. Daine, as a first-year Animals Studies major on a pre-vet path, actually had a lot to ask Onua who was two years further on the same track. Onua found that Daine had a wicked sense of humor, as evidenced by their current state.

Calming down from whatever humorous situation they had been crying about, Daine and Onua pulled themselves up and settle back into more comfortable positions. Turning to the screen, they let themselves get enveloped by a comfortable silence. Tuning out the random panic attack happening on screen, Onua realized that she had never really gotten her initial question answered. Why _was _Daine there? Daine had mentioned her Ma enough times for Onua to understand that they had a very strong mother-daughter bond. So why wasn't she home for the holidays? She turned to her new friend.

"Daine? Don't feel like you have to answer this but, why are you here? Shouldn't you be back with your family?"

Daine's small smile unconsciously dropped from her face, replaced by a more wry expression. "There was a fire a few years ago.. Ma and Grandda were caught in it while I was in school. They were my only family."

"I'm sorry," Onua murmured. She looked at the younger girl for some time. "My mom died when I was very young in a car accident. I was two, maybe three? My dad went down from then, always getting himself in trouble. He was about to be kicked out of the reservation when he was arrested for some drug problem. I was put in the system. Haven't seen him since."

Daine looked at her, understanding in her eyes. She reached out and gave Onua's hand a squeeze. They turned back to the blabbering screen, their minds in the past. Seems like they had a lot more in common than expected.


	3. LalasaTian

Lalasa rubbed a hand over her tired eyes. It had been a long day and there was nothing more she wanted than a chocolate croissant and maybe a nice hot mocha. With whipped cream. Lots and lots of whipped cream. It was near the end of the month and things were going worse than usual. There were articles still requiring editing, the cover still hadn't been finalized, and photos for the main photo spread were missing. Missing! How unprofessional was that?

Lalasa sighed once more. She'd worked hard for this job. It was her dream job! Well, she'd actually never really considered being editor of one of the top fashion magazines in the nation. All she'd wanted to do was be a fashion designer and open up cute little boutiques with plushy couches and gilded mirrors... She started as a college intern with the magazine only because her background in journalism gave her a paid internship, the only paid one she could find. She stuck with the internship far past that summer and was soon offered a permanent job, one she figured would help fund her business ventures. She was now editor and owned two boutiques and was completely content with where her life was at. Except right now. It seemed like everything that could go wrong had gone wrong.

She sighed and checked the time. It was just getting to be 6 o'clock. By this time most days, the entire office was packing up, ready to go home. Today, everyone was still at their desks, making calls, rushing around with stacks of photos. Her stomach grumbled. Taking a break would help clear her mind, making her more productive. Maybe she should grab that mocha…

She pushed her chair back and peeked through the window at the rest of the office. The coast seemed clear. She got up and grabbed her purse. Opening her office door as little as possible, she slid out and scuttled to the emergency stairway.

Opening the door downstairs, she was immediately hit by a wall of chilly, spring air, a harsh reminder of her forgotten coat. Wrapping her arms around herself, Lalasa set a brisk pace to the café across the street. Nestled between a printing shop and the entrance to law offices, its warm brick exterior and ivy seemed especially out of place amongst the stark gray of the rest of the business district. Given the Starbucks not five stores down, it also wasn't usually full, making it the perfect midday escape.

The smell of freshly ground coffee and quiet tingling of bells welcomed her as Lalasa pushed open the door. The twinkling fairy lights and soft music worked wonders in making her relax. The pink-haired barista greeted her with a grin. Walking up to her, Lalasa dumped her bag against the counter.

"Pink, Tian? I thought you couldn't stand that color."

"It's _fuschia_, not pink. A fashion guru such as yourself should be able to tell," Tian replied rolling her eyes. "Busy day? You're usually here a lot earlier."

"You have no idea…"

"So a mocha with extra whip and chocolate drizzle?"

Lalasa smiled once more. Tian understood her far too well. Besides working at the coffee shop, Tian was also in art school. They'd met a little over a year ago when Tian had just started as a barista. As Lalasa was there nearly every day, they had quickly bonded. Lalasa was definitely drawn to her, but too shy to do anything about it so their talks were limited to the café.

Tian turned back around, pushing the lid firmly down. She slid the cup over to Lalasa and took the credit card Lalasa held out. Once the payment was complete, the two stood in an awkward silence.

"They have a new exhibition at the MOMA later this week," Tian began.

"Yes I heard! Matisse right?"

"Yeah!"

The silence enveloped them once more.

"I've never really understood his works," Lalasa broke in.

"I mostly like his use of color."

The bells tingled once more, ushering in another cold customer. As the sharply dressed man perused the list of drinks, he accidentally caught Tian's eye and gave an overly friendly smile. Tian returned with a polite one and returned her attention to Lalasa.

Lalasa took a deep breath. That man kept sneaking glances at Tian. He was obviously interested in her. Now was the time. She slowly released her breath. "Would you like to go?"

Tian looked up, surprised. Another one of those sweet smiled worked its way up her face. "To see Matisse? Sure!"

Lalasa's heart beat wildly. Years later and she'd finally done it! They had a date! Wait, did Tian know it was a date?

"Not as friends though," Lalasa awkwardly tried to clarify.

"Oh?" Tian didn't look at all confused, a wicked smile played across her face.

Lalasa felt her face heat up. "Oh stop, you know what I mean!" The man behind her cleared his throat. "We can decide everything tomorrow?"

"Of course. Have a good day, 'Lasa!"

Positive her face was redder than a cherry, Lalasa grabbed her drink and bag and turned around. She heard the man behind her chuckle and looked up at him. He gave her a good-natured nod, acknowledging her win. Lalasa let out another breath outside, running her hand through her thick, dark hair, pulling strands out from her practical bun. And she'd thought work was stressful!


End file.
